Various devices have heretofore been used to track and display, often in row-column coordinate form, certain randomly selected digits, as used in games such as Bingo, Keno, Lotto, or the like. Typically, in one exemplary embodiment, an operator makes a random selection of one ping-pong ball from among a number of similar balls, each one of which has been labeled with one of the five letters "B," "I," "N," "G," or "O," and a number between one and seventy-five, for example. In some instances, there may be no display of the selected numbers. In others, signs, lights, and video devices have been utilized for this purpose. In these situations, the usual format has consisted of five rows, each identified by a letter, matrixed with fifteen columns of numbers. Of course, it will be realized that other formats are equally possible, such as six rows of ten numbers per row with a middle divider between the third and fourth rows, for example. Regardless of the display format employed, however, after a number has been selected, the operator then announces such letter-number or row-column coordinate audibly, often over a public address system. Players subsequently use a marker to cover the grid location on a card which contains such announced coordinate location.
This action continues until one or more players has covered all of the grid locations in a particular pre-designated pattern, at which time that round of play is terminated, the winner is awarded a prize, and a new round is begun. In large halls with many players, the need arises for large and/or multiple devices capable of continuously displaying in its appropriate location each row-column or letter-number coordinate pair called, while simultaneously displaying the same coordinate pair in the sequence in which it was called relative to other such coordinate pairs. Devices possessing this capability make possible the playing of at least two such lottery games simultaneously, one game, such as Bingo, for instance, depending on the attaining of enough coordinate pair locations to determine a winner, and another game, such as Keno, for instance, depending on the attaining of enough numbers in sequence matching those of the sequential display to determine a winner.
Prior art has included such devices as video cameras focussed on the last ball called and electronic memory storage for reconstruction of a set of digits in case of dispute or so-called "late" Bingo, but none of the previous methods has provided a truly automatic means of registering and indicating in a continuous fashion each selected coordinate pair simultaneously with the selection sequence. Cooper, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,063, teaches a masterboard with apertures and associated ball-actuated switches. However, ping-pong balls, specifically constructed to be as light as possible, lack the weight to satisfactorily actuate most mechanical switches; hence, the need for the present invention which generates a signal when a ping-pong ball, or any other opaque device, passes through beams of infra-red light. However, it can be seen that other methods of entering coordinate pair selection data into the system can be employed. Alternatively to the use of the ping-pong balls to automatically operate identifying switches as the selected balls are placed in apertures containing the switches, an operator can actuate such identifying switches manually. Such switches can include pluralities of push-button or toggle type switches, for instance, among others. Furthermore, a keyboard, such as the type used in conjunction with computers, could also be used to enter such selection data.
Loyd, Jr., et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,389, teaches a last ball display but, in this device, the game would have to be stopped and the entire sequence of previously selected numbers stepped through, digit by digit, in order to see more of a sequence than merely the last ball called. The device of the present invention provides a display of at least the last fifteen numbers in the sequence in which they were selected, as well as the coordinate pair positional display. Of course, more or less numbers than fifteen could be utilized just as well in such a sequential order display system.
Accordingly, it is specifically an object of the present invention to provide a system and device to aid in the playing of a plurality of certain popular lottery games, such as Bingo, Keno, Lotto, and the like, simultaneously.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a multiple game-playing device which will not only display the selected coordinate numbers in their assigned lettered rows in the sequence in which they were selected, but which additionally will provide a separate row to display the selected numbers solely on the basis of the sequence in which they were selected.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a multiple game-playing device which will accept, register, and encode for subsequent transmission any signal from any of a plurality of switch-type data entry mechanisms.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a multiple game-playing device having a transmitting portion which will encode and transmit this coordinate and sequential data.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a multiple game-playing device having at least one receiving-displaying portion, which can possibly be located at relatively great distances from the transmitting device, to receive, decode, and display such coordinate and sequential data.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide such a multiple game-playing device having a display portion which displays the desired coordinate and sequential data in such a way as to be easily seen by the view even though such display portion can be separated from the viewer by a considerable distance.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device where the display means is a plurality of video monitors that display the row coordinate data and sequential data in an alpha-numeric or graphical fashion.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a multiple game-playing device which is able to utilize any or all, separately or simultaneously, of a plurality of data transmitting methods and/or protocols.